COMPLETE Taito, hints of Daikenkeru. Yaoi and AU. 5 Japanese enter an American high school... the epic of a middleclass educational society and its struggles, and what it means to vent out in love, anger and... music. Unbastardized version on site.

Hahahaaa, I said this part would come out sooner but it ended up coming later. --; I'm ashamed of myself. -gets over herself-

O Review response!

Sillie: O This is the last... omigod omigod fangirlishness!

nEo-cHaN: I am slow. I'm sorry. If life went exactly like I wanted... I'd be able to post like hundreds of thousands of words of Taito every day... QQ; I hope you like this update. XD

chibi kidl: Yes, I do know it links to 10 instead of 11. At first it was an accident, but I decided not to change it back. It's easy to get around, so it prevents people from randomly stumbling onto the page. If you still can't figure it out, the full version is also displayed on ;

jarf-kun: lol... I seem to pop out of nowhere with these updates, ne. I dunno, I think I have a thing against making warnings. warnings... makes my fic sound like an impending plague! Yay! O

Aero-Grrl: head spinning Mannnnn I wish time to update (and less of a writer's block ) like you guys do Thanks Aero!

Lady Moon: Naw, the Lise situation was just a little thing that I had planned a long time ago, but didn't have any time to lavish, but I wanted to put it on somewhere. It's definitely not a big deal in the fic. XD

sorryiamnolongeravailble: Mm... change of pen name? It happens, I guess. Strange how those personality traits just sort of snuck in on me. ;

Jacqueline Land: One can never have too many reviews. D English is actually one of my struggling subjects (because of cough teachers), but it's all in the

fun of Taito. D I'll definitely look for Kaiken Phrase once I get time... I have sooo much Anime to watch. When I read back on the older chapters, I thin

... "What the hell was I on..." sometimes ; I really hate reworking things (Oh GOD I hate it when oekaki windows close before I save it... or I screw up an art piece completely), so I doubt I'll rework them, though. I move on too easily sometimes.

Neko no Basu: Akiramenaide! Never give up! D I tried to let the fic keep up with my grades, but I guess it didn't turn out that way, lol. But uh... it's finished now! Let Sora go back to her cage. XD

Blackout12: Yay, thanks for rating! Those are always fun to see. "Remember that irony makes the most fun out of life!" I LIKE that quote. Yikes. D

Noble Maiden: Aww, I'm all blushy. scratches back of head and huggles you Thankyuu

Dreamcrafter: Very interesting place Takeru is in... indeed! I'm so glad you enjoyed TBB! BTW, I LOVE the word kudos. o.o;

Butterflie,fka Crimson Goddess: Whoa, thanks for all the individual reviews! Helped me figure out what you were saying for each. XD Hope you like this conclusion.

Adult note: The legal age to have sex is 16 in Michigan (although one has to be 18 to get an abortion without parent permission, but that's another subject), so Taichi and Yamato are safe... even if they first did it in Quebec ..

And pardon some sections... I've had it really rough and couldn't find a better way to vent it out. Watch out for time warps and strange flashbacks! XDDDD

----

June 7, 2004

Taichi's uninterested look indicated that he hadn't taken Daisuke seriously yet. However, the younger brunette kept a strong hold on his stance. Every pore in his body shouted " LET'S TALK, DAMMIT."

Surprisingly, Yamato didn't have anything to say against it. He knew what Daisuke wanted to bring up, but had he given up being apprehensive about it? Taichi could only hope...

" Do you want to go inside, or are you okay staying here?" Daisuke asked as the other boys approached them outside the pool.

" Well, that's a first, he actually remembered," Takeru mumbled under his fist before quickly continuing, " We didn't ask you about the new situation until now to give you and the public some time for the news to settle, since there was nothing we could do except make matters worse."

Taichi and Yamato glanced at each other, unsure of what to say. They didn't need to say anything.

" One thing I wanna ask before anything," Daisuke asked, " Why they heck did you do it without asking us?"

A low murmur ran through Takeru's vocal chords. " I thought so... After you guys came back from France, right?"

Taichi's eyebrows lifted. " I'm impressed. You saw right through us."

" Well, I knew you guys were into each other even before the trip. When I first met you, Taichi, you guys were like where Daisuke and Ken are at currently."

Daisuke turned his head, not having paid attention to the conversation until he heard his name. " Hu?"

Ken, meanwhile, was hot red. He was at a loss for words.

" Yeah... but seriously. At least you could have announced it to US first. We could have... helped."

" Maybe... but we didn't want it."

" Shows how much you care for the band," Daisuke muttered.

" Daisuke," Takeru said warningly. He turned back to the couple. " Well, besides the news spreading like wildfire, I think we're going to be okay."

True it was. Even though most of the fans griped during the first wave of realization, the negative comments stopped after a few days. Most came to accept the relationship -- some even loved it, surprise, surprise-- and those who backed out weren't dedicated, anyway. Such people were easily replaced by those who had been intrigued by the news and who had come to appreciate the Bishounen Boys. Naturally, their popularity had increased with such news around their schools. The band had stopped relying on the school auditorium recently and moved to a more public area, so there was nothing the school board could do to touch them. Not like the school board paid much attention to them in the first place. But it they had heard of Taichi and Yamato's incident... they would have done something to get the Bishounen Boys ousted, no doubt.

" Then what's to discuss? I don't see the point of this conversation," Taichi said.

" Well... we've gotten an offer. A big one. As in... nationwide big. This is our chance for big profits."

" And big mistakes," Taichi countered, " You want us to go commercial. Did you read the fine print on the contract? Did it forget to mention screwing us over after a few years when nobody remembers the contract anymore? Whoever's sponsering will probably dump us after they sap everything out of us."

Takeru frowned, " I did read it, and it didn't seem to mention anything like that."

" That's not what I mean, Takeru," Taichi interjected. " If we go big, it takes at least 300 more commitment than we're already pulling. You guys are still in middle school. What are your values on education?"

That stopped the young blonde. He was silent for a minute, thinking deeply.

" I don't like school," Daisuke said plainly.

Ken piped in all of a sudden. " It's okay, I guess."

Taichi nodded, still in a strange, sage mood. " I don't like it either, yet I'd rather stay in it than expand our popularity. We could gain a lot with going nationwide, but we will for sure lose a lot. I don't really like the gains compared to the losses. We also can't be certain that this contract would work in the first place."

" I read it! I know it would work!" Takeru snapped. He didn't like it when his judgment was mistrusted, as rarely as that happened.

Yamato, who had been sitting with his arms crossed, finally spoke. " I... I'm with Taichi on this one."

" Yamato!" Takeru said, exasperated. " This is such a good opportunity! How can you-"

" You listen, Takeru. Do you know why I'm a part of this group in the first place?"

The younger blonde remained still, not expecting such a question. " I don't," he said quietly. Daisuke and Ken glanced at Yamato, interest perked. Taichi did not show a change of emotion.

Takeru didn't quite feel at home. He had known Yamato for a long time, even longer than Taichi, yet at that moment, it was only Taichi that didn't need to know. Only Taichi knew the answer to Yamato's question beside Yamato himself. Even if Yamato was just another member of the band... it hurt. His lifelong friend confided in someone else now.

Finally breaking the silence, Yamato tilted his head downward, a position of high angst and anxiety. " My parents."

Yamato wasn't sure whether to continue or not, bringing Taichi's attention. How was he to start?

" I... they..." he shook his head. Tears were starting to build up on his eyes... no, he wanted them to go away. Not in front of the younger people, he didn't want to cry in front of them. But the memories evoked just from thinking about his parents... He put a hand on his forehead, intentionally blocking the view to his eyes. ' I can't tell them, I can't handle this... damn.'

Taichi watched his inner struggle, knowing he couldn't do much without pushing Yamato further. He took mental note to pamper the blonde later. Heheh... he liked doing that...

He put his emotional wall back up, firmer than ever.

A smiled played on his lips--one that indicated that he was trying to make a good situation out of a bad one. Taichi quirked an eyebrow; he had expected Yamato to do this, but it was still quite a sight. " Let's just say...I like making music for the relief. I don't expect it to give me any more. If I ask it to put food on the table for years to come, I'm also asking it to give me stress and suffering for years to come."

Takeru stared at him blankly for what felt like an eternity.

" All right," he finally stated. " I guess... I can see where you're coming from."

" I can't!" Daisuke moaned. " I'm confused!"

" They don't want in on the contract," Ken explained, smiling.

" Aww... but I thought it'd be fun," Daisuke pouted. " Next time, I guess. I'm going to the hot spa if we're done with this."

" Mm... wait for me," Ken said, following the goggle boy to the side of the house.

" Wasn't it Daisuke who wanted to have this conversation the most? Didn't he seem so serious before? And now... he's so..." Taichi's eyes followed the two as they left, " flippant."

" Yeah, that's how he is," Takeru said casually, " Actually, I didn't really want to sign the contract, either. I just wanted to hear what you guys had to say."

Yamato's eye twitched. " You tested us."

The younger blonde shrugged. " That's how it works."

Takeru reiterated their next concert's schedule to Taichi and Yamato before deciding to head to the hot tub as well. He got off his seat and turned the corner-- then jumped back. His eyes went wide at the sight before him.

Daisuke and Ken were sharing an ever-so-innocent kiss in each other's arms, the warmth of the hot pool surrounding them.

The shock didn't last long for the young blonde. After his initial reaction, he simply stood on the grass, clad only with his swim trunks, and scratched his hair in redundancy.

" What happened, Takeru?" Yamato asked as he and Taichi caught up with him.

" Adolescence," he said plainly. " Puberty happened."

Taichi and Yamato turned the corner to observe the commotion. The kiss had ended by them replaced by the two young boys staring into each other's eyes nervously, their newfound feelings brimming. Their arms were around each other... Yamato started laughing, much to the surprise of the others.

Daisuke and Ken suddenly jerked to the other sides of the hot tub, nervous expressions implanted on their faces. " Yo, guys," the goggle boy called.

" Lay off it, we only saw what we already knew," Takeru said, continuing his way to the hot tub.

Taichi glanced at his friend. " Yama, what..."

" Don't know why I find it funny," Yamato said, reducing his laugh to a chuckle, " but somehow I can see us doing the same thing."

The brunette crossed his arms as he started to stride over to the hot tub to join his flock. " Yeah... I can too," he said with a smirk.

Yamato cocked his head. " Why not?"

" You sure? You're not usually this bold."

Yamato gave one good, long look at Taichi. He didn't have to say any more.

Just as Takeru was about to settle in the hot tub, the two larger and older boys bounded inside, spilling nearly half of the water and causing a generally undesired disturbance. Ken, the only one to see the attack coming, shielded himself with his arms, while Daisuke and Takeru suffered the worst. Needless to say, they were a bit disgruntled.

When they finished shaking the water off, they looked over to see more kissing... this time Taichi and Yamato. Naturally, their act didn't seem innocent at all. Actually, it was quite a turn on...

They were well aware that the others were watching their rather extravagant display, but those boys had to get the temptation out of their system. Even on stage, they had held themselves back greatly. This was just the limit before they got carried away...

Well, they WOULD have gotten carried away if Daisuke hadn't splashed them, breaking their closeness.

" MOU!" Daisuke groaned. " You guys..."

Taichi pondered retaliating for a split second, then realized he was too horny to do anything to Daisuke without putting everyone in an uncomfortable position. All of his thoughts seemed to be off...

As last minute satisfaction, Taichi randomly groped under Yamato's swimming trunks. The bubbles in the hot tub hid that, but the others could still tell what he was doing. If it wasn't for Taichi's reaching arm, it was the expression of bliss on Yamato's face...

Daisuke and Ken stared at each other wide-eyed. Perhaps they had never seen such activity in real-time before. They looked... overly curious.

Takeru sweatdropped. " I'm surrounded."

" Don't worry too much," Taichi said, waving his hand up and down in the water like a mother trying to show modesty. " We'd let you join in, too."

" What...?" Takeru flushed red, " I don't..."

" Just admit it... you want something, too, I can tell by your frigidness," Taichi mused, " You really need something to loosen up for doing so much work."

" Don't know what you're talking about..."

Despite his blushing and awkward stance, the other boys couldn't do much except observe him. Takeru didn't seem to be giving in.

" Eh, he's still in denial, he'll get over it some other day," Ken commented.

" Well, sorry if I have a little more sense than to purposely decrease my morals when I don't want to," Takeru retorted. Daisuke and Ken looked slightly ashamed, while Taichi and Yamato maintained unreadable faces. Unreadable, as in they were grinning like mad and one could not tell if they were truly gay or just faking it. Takeru held a hand out to the center of the hot tub. " Let's just relax for now, hmm?"

The others nodded. " Sounds good," said Yamato as he rested his arms on the rim of the hot tub. A temporary session of pure living is always good to have...

----

January 14, 2005

Ah... the school hallways, full of random clusters of teenager... blooming, blooming in many ways. They talked the dirty, the clean, the tainted... Walking down the school hallways was always interesting. The walls were covered in --spectacular-- advertisements-- er... announcements.

The hand-painting mural covering one side of an entire hallway, where each student in the school made their mark. Amongst the mass of colorful hands, one hand clearly indicated the punk rock symbol.

" I want YOU for Montage!"

" Come to the swim meet and watch these guys get wet!" -another sweatdrop-

Even though he didn't have Yamato in his class with Mr. Andrews this year, he found the class exceedingly better than his Freshmen year class. Maybe it was because it wasn't an honors class... well, it was almost 100 for that reason. Most of the students simply lacked skills or they were potentials without much commitment, which worked out fine for the brunette. There wasn't nearly as much work as he had in honor classes, and the work itself was easier to understand. It was his personal slacker class.

But that was okay. Taichi knew his priorities.

Most of the other students were sophomores, people that he didn't know existed. By the first couple months, most of the people in the class knew him, even though they spent only one small class period for introductions. He found more free somehow, compared to his tense advanced classes where everyone gave an aura or closed focus. Those advanced... if you weren't their friends with them before, there was no chance of befriending them then. With these sophomores, Taichi had a fresh chance. Most of the people were amiable.

Mr. Andrews was less of a tyrant. Taichi's view of him as a grumpy person who enjoyed discipline changed to an incredibly knowledgeable man with intriguing sarcasm. Actually, there wasn't that much of a change within Mr. Andrews himself (although his teaching techniques had grown much more useful), but Taichi felt his tolerance for his World Studies teacher improving over the year. He thought he would dread having Mr. Andrews again. He will never forget... first year's meh, second year's nice... Third is a charm.

----

Fourth year with a teacher... is a nightmare. It makes one want to go back to first year... at least for Taichi's case in orchestra. Mrs. Hinderliter's senile personality was starting to get to him...

Occasionally, a freshmen would saunter straight through the crowds, yelling, " I'm gonna be late for class! Shove it!" Occasionally, a freshmen wouldn't even have the time to tell people of his distress.

" Whoa, there," came the response from the hallway victims.

" Fag," one of them retorted. It didn't matter whether it was male or female... Because if Taichi could identify that person, he would be getting quite the enlightenment at the moment. He had to get to orchestra, however... Mrs. Hinderliter didn't appreciate slow people, and he wanted to see Yamato.

" Mataku..."

The class commenced, students listening to the concertmaster's A note. Taichi glanced at his stand partner, a usually lively girl who conserved herself in class. She was a good contribution to the orchestra; she could play all the notes, she knew the rhythms, she knew how to follow the conductor. She had only mild commitment to the orchestra, but it was enough to satisfy the conductor. Most of the other students couldn't care less if the orchestra didn't exist. Taichi admitted he wouldn't be sobbing either, but there would still be an element of pity.

Taichi enjoyed being concertmaster of the cello section, he felt proud to take the responsibilities of one and he did his best at it. He didn't waste time in the beginning of class to socialize; he immediately got his instrument out and set up a stand for himself and his stand partner. There were only a few other people who did similarly-- the 1st chair of the 2nd violins, and one of the violists. Taichi was decent friends with both of them. After setting up everything he needed to start class, he spent any additional time sharing his music interests with them and Yamato. They would play Bach partitas and suites, random concertos or duets with each other. The conductor looked disapprovingly at them when they did this...

After some scolding from the conductor, Taichi could only give his orchestra buddies knowing glances. ' Why doesn't she say anything to the people hanging in the back who haven't even gotten instruments out yet?' would be the silent, unspoken question. Saying it out loud was also unspoken... the conductor would just blow prideful anger back at them. Yamato knew his orchestra grade was being affected by this, sadly. At times he considered quitting the orchestra because of the conductor's incompetence. It felt like being on the soccer team all over again. However, this time it had more complications... he couldn't really fit a different class to do instead of orchestra at that hour, and he didn't want to back out with only half a year left.

Incompetance. He dealed with it every day. He did his best to tolerate it. Luckily for him, he had people like Yamato to take him away from the pressures of such trifles. ' Yama's beautiful like that.'

----

December 28, 2005

Taichi knew exactly how Yamato's family treated him, and how their relationship grew more strained over the years. Yamato wasn't one to go up to someone and instantly pour out all of his feelings. He was too self-conscious for that, and he was also concerned about his peer image. He didn't want to come out as a troublesome person. So when Taichi firmly came out and asked Yamato to tell him EVERYTHING, he was shocked at first.

He didn't know what to do. Nobody had even considered asking him about his troubles. All of the people who had taken interest in him just wanted his body or his work...

He was "used and abused," to sum it up in a few words. But that was all in the past; he never let anyone get to him at that magnitude ever since he entered high school. His martial arts training made sure of that. He hadn't taken lessons since he left for America, but he didn't need to learn more after making his stand at school with the more rowdy bullies.

But just because he could defend himself physically didn't mean he could do it mentally as well. His parents had a natural hold on him... they were able to suck out every last bit of willpower he had in his grasp. One moment, they would seem as cheerful as a sunny day, and the next moment, they would spout off like rain coming down in torrents. There was always a danger of a flash flood in Yamato's home. It certainly didn't make leisure time there comfortable.

Fortunately, there was time every day for him to have the house to himself. Both of his parents worked full-time, leaving almost three hours between the end of school and their return home. On some days, Yamato only had the energy to utilize this time for napping...

It was on this rather glorious winter day, however, that Taichi visited his home. Yamato's parents were FINALLY using their paid vacation time (although he would have HIGHLY preferred that they use it when he WASN'T on vacation), so they were home most of the time. Fortunately, his parents were able to leave him alone in the house for one day, in which Yamato took full advantage and called Taichi over. The two finished eating their ramen noodle lunch and were lounging on the living room couch.

" Na, Yamato," Taichi started in all seriousness, his arms casually slung over the back of the couch and his neck relaxing on the curve. " How's life?"

On the center square cushion where Yamato always sat, he looked at the brunette. That question indicated the beginning of Taichi wanting to hear everything on his mind.

" Don't you ever get tired of listening to me?" Yamato asked.

Taichi looked back at him without moving his position. " Why would I?"

" You don't have to be my counselor... I feel like I'm burdening you with all of my problems."

Taichi sat up, ruffling his hair. " Yama, I do this because I want to. If something's troubling you, it troubles me. If anything, I think I'm a burden to you sometimes..."

The violin player blinked, confused. " Why would you possibly think that..." he said softly.

The memory of their first band performance flowed through Taichi's mind. He narrowed his eyes as if he had eaten some bitter melon. Oh, gods, he hated that stuff... Not being able to sing without Yamato... acting like a complete bitch without him around... he didn't want to keep depending on him like that, but he felt completely empty without Yamato. Unlike Taichi, Yamato probably wasn't aware of Taichi's dependency on him, but he left it for Yamato to figure out on his own. He wasn't worried that Yamato would leave him for that anymore. Taichi felt quite content comforting Yamato for everything he did in return...

" Oh, just the usual lecturing-while-I-try-do-homework," Yamato muttered. He thought for a moment, then added. " Then again... a few days ago..."

He still hesitated to spill the truth, his security wall wouldn't break down so easily.

Taichi scooted over and wrapped Yamato in his arms, resting his chin on Yamato's back.

" I was in my room composing something, and my parents are on vacation so they're home all the time."

Taichi held on tighter. He knew by now that Yamato's parents were never good news.

" I was just composing, mixing stuff on my computer keyboard and my dad came by and mumbled some shit, then continued on. He did it again a few minutes later, but I didn't comprehend anything so I just kept composing," Yamato gave a worried look, worry for himself and the situation, " All of a sudden, I heard a huge scream downstairs... my mom's high pitch shrill, screaming at me. It's scary. I hate hearing it. It's why I'm never afraid of horror movies... who needs horror movies when you've got a mother who lacks considerate anger management?"

The brunette frowned, but he continued to listen.

" I couldn't do anything except abandon all my composition work and rush downstairs to see what the hell she wanted. She wanted me to oil the bowls for a dish she and dad were making. She kept screaming, Taichi... kept telling me that I was a delinquent and that I had no consideration for them. I was trying to do them a favor by not bugging them... they should know by now I don't like to butt in their business, and that they shouldn't butt into mine. And if they don't know, how can I explain it to them? Fuck..."

" They don't know the fundamentals of living with a teenager? Sad parents, they are," Taichi said, facing the blonde and smiling slightly.

Yamato smiled back faintly. " By the way, both of my parents also said that I had no social skills and that it'll never get me anywhere in life. Yah, that's why I got accepted into one of the most prestigious colleges in the states... because of my lack of social skills. Oh, pleaaaaaeee..."

Taichi held back a laugh. Yamato was sounding quite feminine at the moment...

Taichi gave him a pat on the shoulder. " Just a few more months, and then college will come. And then..."

" I can be haunted by her incessant daily calls. And if I don't answer, she'll call over and over again for hours. And if I have an answering machine, she'll say ' hello, are you there?' over and over for another minute before recalling."

The brunette stared at him. " Wow."

" Well, I'm exaggerating, but she really would be annoying when it comes to the calling. The other night she was up past 3 a.m. talking to old relatives back in Japan. Now these relatives are really short of hearing, so she talks really loudly and doesn't close the door. She's in the room right next to me, too! I tried slamming my door to give her a hint, but it seems I can't be subtle with anyone, anymore! If one can even call THAT subtle..."

Taichi grinned. " Aren't you subtle with me?"

" I guess. I'm not always aware of myself."

" I think you are. Sometimes I don't understand you, and that's when you're being TOO subtle."

" Like when?"

" Um..." Taichi itched his head and gave a look of dismay. He didn't like prompt thinking. " I can't remember off the top of my head."

The ends of Yamato's lips curled upward. " Then let's do something while you think."

Taichi wasn't given time to reply. Yamato quite swiftly grabbed the cello player by the shoulders and set his lips upon the darker face. Taichi nearly jumped; he wasn't used to Yamato attacking him like this... but God DAMN it felt good.

In their passionate fury, Taichi left an additional mark on Yamato's violin hickey, and one thing led to another... but before things could get out of hand (err clothes), they simultaneously broke apart.

He gave the blonde a tight hug and rested his chin on his golden hair.

" You know... my violin teacher, mother and I had this interesting conversation about life in a public high school... You should've seen the look on my mother's face while my teacher was telling her stories. She was so shocked... then again, she grew up in all-female schools. And she grew up apart from the America's 60's era. She was never exposed to underage smoking, sex, alcohol and drugs, let alone talks of it."

Taichi nodded.

" I sometimes wonder if she even appreciates what she has. At least I wouldn't even consider doing any of those."

" Strange question for you, Yama," Taichi said as he settled his arms around the other. " Do you think sex is overrated?"

Yamato made a sound of contentment and continued to lean against Taichi. He liked these moments the most, and with their busy schedule, he had to make the best out of them. Even if he wished he had more time...

----

June 18, 2003

Quebec, Canada

Time... he could clearly remember a forensics informative presentation about time... How it controlled people's lives how it caused joy and pain... The message of the fifteen-minute speech was evident; We cause our own distress, our own happiness. We rule ourselves, yet we are not willing to change. No one is willing to suffer the solution.

Yamato layed against Taichi's bare chest, listening to the heavy heart-beats slowly diminish to a calm pulse. They were too tired to say much.

Taichi sighed and rested a hand on the small of Yamato's back. The rain was still coming down in torrents.

" Mm... Taichi," the lighter one mumbled, nuzzling Taichi's side. Taichi didn't reply, not needing to. Laying there, relaxing with the one he loved and knowing for the moment that all that mattered was the other person was more than enough to allow him freedom.

The weather made the day drone on slowly --high heaven for the two boys. This was better than just a vacation, if only it could last forever. For the moment, however, they could procrastinate their stress.

Swiftly placing the frame back on its respectful table, Taichi turned and threw himself and Yamato onto bed, where they continued their youthful foolery...

----

Summer 2006

Excerpt from Yamato's uncompleted writing:

--Humans today are social, after all. With heavy curriculum and extracurricular activity demand, today's teens rarely have time ouside school to interact. Or at least, they WANT more time. A clutter of the students looking for a DECENT education have to use all of their classes for required classes. Science and Math are always first. Anything roughly related to arts are just "electives," second thoughts, pushed into the storage for back-up. And perhaps the arts are okay in the back; as long as humans would rather strive to aim for "perfection" of knowledge. People want more lawyers to adjust the increasing corruption of people, scientists to discover ways to cheat death, and perhaps existence. Market sale is another biggie. Economy flails wherever and whenever, and as the populations grows exponentially, work also becomes competitive exponentially. Yet, humans are constantly trying to direct themselves out of certain doom.

When will they learn to ease off? They've overclouded themselves with their pride of "intelligence," even though it is quite apparent that the United States will never lead on such a genre. Has pride of "entertainment" really died? It has more simmered, but to the point where they have no priority. It has become a minority. Entertainment IS a priority. It relieves tension, and everyone can relate to it... It is what brings the world together in times of trouble, what keeps people motivated to live. It's natural to work to achieve such things, but what of the people who wish to create it for a living? After all, what would be the point of working for entertainment when no form of it exists?

Let them live.

----

Yamato never did complete his writing. Every once rare while, when he had the time, he would shuffle through his papers and come across a worn out stash of papers. He would read over the familiar words, memories filling his inner self, and sometimes he would write more. More of his insights, his feelings, other such emotions-- poured into his writing. He knew that it was quite useless to put it in such form, however. That's when he turned to his compositions...

" It's about that time," Yamato stated sadly. " I wish it didn't have to come." He held the microphone diligently between him and the brunette next to him.

" All things come to an end eventually. " Taichi avoided looking at the audience. They had a good reason for saying this announcement only in the concert without previous notice. " This is our last song for you."

They sat quietly on their stage-block, heads tilted down as the crowd cheered wildly. If the situation had been unreal, the two would've laughed. The majority of the crowd was assuming that it would be the last song of the concert.

No, it was their final performance. But it worked out better with the way the two boys said it.

And thus, Takeru and Ken cranked up the keyboards with an onslaught of Daisuke's favorite, GateI. Daisuke came out of the center with a spotlight to immediately start the words of his trademark song. He raced and paced as the words flowed out one after another... short phrases that hung meticulously seconds after they were sounded.

Something seemed more grand than usual according to the audience. They didn't know better, they just felt lucky... felt wonderful for hearing such passion. The performance was solid, the boys were feeling the rhythm beautifully, the music was stunning.

To their beliefs the boys were feeling--the extent of their desires, the yearning to wander away... Away from school, away from home, away from authoritative figures, away from the limits of society...

It was a common goal for all five of them, and one of the few times they could feel that peak was while they were singing. Even if some of them weren't aware of some of the other's exact motives, they knew it was there.

Takeru and Ken let the keyboards work their magic and joined the other three in their joyous song. Joyous? Was that the way to describe them? Ecstasy comes to mind, but one can't be too incredulous...

Perhaps one day, they will meet again and rebuild what they had here that night. Perhaps... when the ups and downs of life aren't so much of a threat. When will that precious day come...

----

" I'm so envious of your hair," again Yamato started. He was doing that quite often lately, initiating the conversation.

" Envious?" Or infatuated?" Taichi smiled. " I love your hair, too."

" Amazing what a pile of dead skin cells adds to the attractiveness factor."

" Yep..."

Yamato wandered over to where Taichi was sitting in the center of his room with his cello.

" Play the beginning of the Bach Prelude again," the blonde murmured, resting his arms around Taichi's neck.

Taichi leaned into the gentle hug, replying, " I can't exactly play with you on me."

Yamato nodded, moving back onto Taichi's bed to relax. " Slowly, like how Shinji from Evangelion played it."

" Ah," Taichi confirmed peacefully, setting his left hand on the finger board to prepare the first phrase. As he played, the world continued turning. Turning, waiting for a new day to arise...

Somewhere, an old life is taken. Somewhere, a new life is born. Somewhere, someone is lonely. Somewhere, someone is loved.

Somewhere, life will go on.

Taichi's melody ensured that.

----

Owari

----

-falls off chair- Where have the years gone... -in tears- Exhaustion...

By the way, if mock elections interest you, I won "Best Musician" and "Most changed" at Portage Central High's Senior Mock Elections. I had no idea people knew I even existed. Oo; But um... -huggles you all xD-

I guess the following can be some sort of "Foreword" to TBB... I wonder why they call it Foreword in novels when they usually talk about stuff after concluding the story. ; Why not put it at the end and call it "Afterward" or something..? Oo; -shrug- I'm not a professional at that kind of thing. XD

I know that a lot of people have probably forgotten about this fic along the way because it was so slowly updated, but... this fic has the most of my personal feelings in it in anything I've done fanwork-wise so far. I dunno... perhaps the original I'm working on will surpass it one day. But the original is much more subliminal. Well, even this fic is a bit more subliminal, but still held mainly within Taichi and Yamato. No one's really figured out (or at least told me) who represents exactly what in this fic. Sometimes one person in my real life inspires more than one character in this fic, or sometimes a character in the fic represents more than one person in my real life. Hope that's not confusing. Oo;

Another thing I want to do is apologize to any of the yaoi fangirls who expect more yaoi and less of my personal ranting. Sometimes I feel like I'm using you guys as an outlet or something.. ; errr... -shuts up- As SSJupiter81 once said... "Let's all have sex and get happy!" or YaMaTo-KuN's "When life gets hard... fuck it." Some day, they will understand! -hides in her hole in the meantime- Poor Takeru... I'll leave his future up to your imagination.

Wow, it's done... o.o; A few ideas from this fic will be recycled in my upcoming original series.. XD Most of the development for it is complete as I type this. Now to actually draw it out... o.o; I like drawing more than fanfics, although fanfics are easier to create at times. College and big life is coming up for me. Time to start making money. Darn economy. ; It was a fun ride! Look forward to a new website to sample upcoming stuff D

One of my favorite things about fanfics is that I can steal all the lovely songs I want. -snicker- There were many times during the writing of this fic that I wish I had opened myself to using female artist songs, but I'm glad I managed to keep what I first set out to do. Luckily, there are one-shot songfics like Cocktail I could write... Now if I could get reviews... rofl. -runs-

"Michishirube" is a DN Angel insert song, which has an original version and an acoustic version, both of which are VERY lovely (I prefer the acoustic, however). I never quite got addicted to DN Angel itself, but Miyamoto Shunichi has such a beautiful voice... quite suiting of the bish boy voice I was hoping for.

Until next time.

Splash

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.